Never a ship sails out of the bay but carries my heart as a stowaway

Finally, normality is being restored here after an exciting time which I have much to say about! But to begin with, some of my favourite pictures from our trip to Cornwall and reunion with the sea - it's been a while. As ever, the sight fills me with awe and a little fear, and complete breathlessness when the days are sunny and the sea an inexplicable shade of green and blue. Part of me will ever remain a little old fishwife by the harbour to the sea...

Many more stories and pictures to come!

Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same...

I thought I'd share some of my exciting new finds before heading off to Cornwall on holiday tomorrow! It has been a very busy but lovely week, which I started with a 5am start to head off to the antiques market at Kempton Park, which was amazing. I was so spoilt for choice and bewildered by all the wonderful things that I came away empty-handed, but I definitely want to go back with some spare cash! I had my eye on vintage Steiff bears, Victorian photo albums, a 40s silk wedding dress, antique furniture, lots of stuffed animals, 60s dresses... need I say more?

After that, I went to the Clothing Warehouse near Newbury, where I've never been before. I thought I would find nothing, but walked out with a long burgundy dressing gown in thick satin, a beautiful vintage crimson dress, a white 60s shift dress, a beige mac, a lovely blue and lace petticoat that is so thick I will definitely be wearing it as a dress, and a polks dot shirt... and then to finish it off, I found a lovely jade spotty shirt at a sale in New Look, and a 50s red vanity case from Ebay! Bargain! And all the Warehouse things were £6 or less. I love it there, and have become such a huge fan of thrifting.

Then to end the week I wore the red dress and bag to my friend's wedding in the Peak District, which was beautiful. She looked stunning and because of the amazing purple heather on the moors, she looked like she walked straight out of Wuthering Heights in her lovely dress. Perfect, and definitely an area I'd like to visit again.

Oh, and my hair is finally getting to the shade I want now!

More after my holiday, hopefully with lots of pictures...

Bright Young Things

I am exhausted after having decorators and plumbers in our house for a week redoing our bathroom and lounge; the lounge is now wonderfully bright, showing off my little glass and ceramic vintage finds, and the bathroom has a real art deco feel to it. But it is wonderful to have the house back in order and all the mess cleaned up!

After so much chaos and dust(and so little time for blogging), I felt the need for a little glamour, so I watched Bright Young Things, which I've never seen before. I wanted to steal all the costumes and the decor, and have a real urge for some fur (fake in my case), hats, gloves, sophisticated dresses... for now, these gorgeous 30s images will have to do.

I wonder when we lost that glamour?

What great pictures - I would like them all on my wall... just love the girls on the rock by the sea. I would definitely wear this on my trip to Cornwall (next week!) if I could!

Tomorrow I'm getting up stupidly early to go and explore Kempton Antiques Fair - I've been meaning to for ages, but I hope all the good stuff doesn't sell straight away as it's a bit of a drive for me! Wish me luck...

(Pictures found on Tumblr, courtesy of: 40s classic, couture allure vintage, cynic with a smile, i am the moon, lucy loves me more, maudelynn, retro goddess, she was not alone, the happy heffalump, they roared vintage).

Bicycles, Rupert Bear, the seaside, and straw hats

Today has involved one of my most favourite mornings - a trip to the town where we used to live in order to explore my favourite second hand book shop, charity shops, and garden centre. My hair has just grown enough to allow me to get my fringe back, so I am happily wearing my new vintage-style hats at every opportunity. Something about this one makes people smile at me and small girls say hello.

I went all out in the feeling girly and young again fashion stakes with matching ankle socks, and the universe responded by unearthing two great childrens' books for me and a stripy, heart print jumper for £3. I had to have the Rupert bear book as soon as I saw the Victorian-style clothes on the bears - and all the talk of seaside and ice creams has made me very impatient for our trip to Cornwall!

As you can see, my cat was determined to take part in operations today! Meet Freckles - she's 12, and was adopted by me two years ago. She is a real sweetie!

Skirt and hat (£2!) from Primark, ankle socks and shoes from New Look, pearls from a charity shop.

Where the horses run free

We took a day trip down the busy roads to a place where the horses ran free and green shady alleys were crowded with hundreds of butterflies. We heard the fast thump of deer hooves as we startled one lying just on the other side of a line of trees. We wandered under the vibrant green canopies and felt we could nearly see another world of forest dwellers and faes. I fell in love with purple heather and the giant oak tree. We ate lunch at the site of an old royal hunting lodge and saw no one else all day. It was enough to dream of for months.

Chumming it with Jeeves

Things I wish I could afford to buy this week in lovely primary colours:

Yellow bag from ASOS - great colour, this would make an outfit all on its own.

Black and white brogues from Topshop; I am searching for the perfect brogues, and I can't find any I like as much as these! Might just have to shell out for them...

Collar dress. Perfection. I love an unusual design, and this is just great. Cute, different, so simple...

Miss Selfridge playsuit. Can't justify £40 on this, but it's difficult to resist. I love the contrast of a cute playsuit with a formal retro design.

Scissor, rock, paper necklace from Galibardy: top prize for uniqueness.

Fedora hat - great colour and a bargain from New Look!

If only I could decide what I want most. Trouble is, they all look so good together. I could pretend to be a 20s girl all day in these...

Dreaming...

Why, oh why, do I not live here? I think I might never go out. I think I could daydream endlessly until that book I always wanted to write emerged.

From Kitschy Living.